Alright. I'm getting tired of the CONTINUED celebration of Bin Laden's death. As your friendly, objective neighborhood misanthrope, I was personally disgusted by this country (America) and its initial reaction to Bin Laden's death. Entire streets of people cheering and celebrating - stiff with erections, no doubt - and waving their little flags in gleeful celebration of the death of another individual. In light of that individual's actions, however, this reaction is fully understandable. (Though no less disgusting, from a moral standpoint)

So, that happened, and I figured everything would be cool. We'd celebrate the fact that "we got him" for a little while, and then like the death of Brad and Jennifer's relationship; it'd slowly fade into the past. But it seems, once again, that I underestimated the power of Human bloodthirst and the subsequent revelry that it inspires. After Bin Laden's death came the "commemorative coin": made of platinum gold and dedicated to Seal Team Six; the squad of Navy Seals who finally put the bullet in Bin Laden's head. It is a collectors piece. After that came countless TV documentaries giving an "inside view" of what happened during the raid, presented in real-time dramatic recreations. More recently, a full-fledged TV movie is being advertised that documents the raid AGAIN from start to finish.

I am with you on that one, even if there was not much celebration over here.

Personally my immediate thought was "Can we stop fuck arsing about with the Towel Head Nations now?" And then it really hit home; "Holy fuck! The janitor on Scrubs was RIGHT!!!"... and then the true tactical significance hit; "Right, so who's in charge now and where is the retaliatory attack going to come from?"

At this point it has LONG lost it's excitement, why push it on any longer....

Though I can't help but wonder; How long were Radio/TV/newspaper stories running about finding Hitler dead? And should that be used as a measure in the future for "Evil Fuckers killed/found dead" celebratory limits.

The people closely associated with the namesake of female canines are suffering from a nondescript form of lunacy.
"Anti-environmentalism is like standing in front of a forest and going 'quick kill them they're coming right for us!'" - Jake Farr-Wharton, The Imaginary Friend Show.

Let the public/media celebrate their tiny little pointless victory.
People don't understand that it's just 1 guy.
Sure you can say things like Hitler was just one guy but even today there are white supremacists that believe in what Hitler was doing.
It's not about 1 person, it never is, it's about an idea.

It's the most powerful weapon on the planet, "idea".
Think about it, religion is an idea, cults are an idea, Hitler promoted the idea that Germany > Everyone else, Capitalism v Communism. It's always an idea. From as small as a cult to as large as the most powerful country in the world starting a second world war (the first was just stupid greed on Austria's part..).
Look at America today. "You're either an American or you're not".

Osama promoted the idea of a unified Islamic nation, ideas that Western countries were the enemy etc.. That doesn't stop with the death of one man. The danger doesn't suddenly disappear. In the grand scheme of things Osama's death is totally irrelevant, people still want to destroy the west, people are still diluted just as the West is still diluted that they can change this with a full automatic rifle.

(28-10-2012 02:49 AM)Misanthropik Wrote: Alright. I'm getting tired of the CONTINUED celebration of Bin Laden's death. As your friendly, objective neighborhood misanthrope, I was personally disgusted by this country (America) and its initial reaction to Bin Laden's death. Entire streets of people cheering and celebrating - stiff with erections, no doubt - and waving their little flags in gleeful celebration of the death of another individual. In light of that individual's actions, however, this reaction is fully understandable. (Though no less disgusting, from a moral standpoint)

So, that happened, and I figured everything would be cool. We'd celebrate the fact that "we got him" for a little while, and then like the death of Brad and Jennifer's relationship; it'd slowly fade into the past. But it seems, once again, that I underestimated the power of Human bloodthirst and the subsequent revelry that it inspires. After Bin Laden's death came the "commemorative coin": made of platinum gold and dedicated to Seal Team Six; the squad of Navy Seals who finally put the bullet in Bin Laden's head. It is a collectors piece. After that came countless TV documentaries giving an "inside view" of what happened during the raid, presented in real-time dramatic recreations. More recently, a full-fledged TV movie is being advertised that documents the raid AGAIN from start to finish.

For fuck's sake, America. We killed the guy. It's done. Let it go.

I know it's really not the same, but I've always thought that the way the Norwegians handled the Utoeya tragedy and their treatment of Breivik were really telling and kind of highlighted the differences in the mentality of the two countries (Norway and the States). One more reason why to my mind there are few countries in the world that can compare to the Scandinavian ones.

I don't think it's true that we are "celebrating in the streets", but it is a pretty universal belief that his death is a good thing. After all, it is assumed that he would have continued murdering Americans if he had been allowed to live, and therefore part of the celebration is a recognition that we prevented further tragedy.

However, it is sickening that we see the death of any individual as a "good thing". It was a necessary evil at best (in my humble opinion). When I heard that Bin Laden died, I thought, "neat" and never spend more thought on it. I'm glad he died so that others could live. But I'm not happy with the thought that he had to die. If there was another option, that would have been preferable.

My girlfriend is mad at me. Perhaps I shouldn't have tried cooking a stick in her non-stick pan.

(28-10-2012 07:19 AM)Vera Wrote: I know it's really not the same, but I've always thought that the way the Norwegians handled the Utoeya tragedy and their treatment of Breivik were really telling and kind of highlighted the differences in the mentality of the two countries (Norway and the States). One more reason why to my mind there are few countries in the world that can compare to the Scandinavian ones.

How did they handle those two tragedies? I know that Americans were upset about it, too, but it quickly devolved into a debate over whether Breivik was a "true" Christian.

My girlfriend is mad at me. Perhaps I shouldn't have tried cooking a stick in her non-stick pan.

(28-10-2012 10:13 AM)Starcrash Wrote: How did they handle those two tragedies? I know that Americans were upset about it, too, but it quickly devolved into a debate over whether Breivik was a "true" Christian.

Did it? Wow, this is beyond sick. My two cents - he totally was/is - willing to kill for his religion.

Well, they didn't turn it into a witch hunt, they didn't demonise the piece of shit (I, on the other hand am not below that), they didn't focus on revenge, they didn't throw him into a Guantanamo type of jail and they reiterated that cultural diversity is one of the main ideals of their society.

He was sentenced to 21 years (no death penalty there, as if I needed another reason to respect them), which can be extended if it's deemed that he still poses a threat to society.

And yes, he is a monster and worse than scum, but ultimately how we treat our enemies reflects on us and can harm as much as it can harm them. Yes, there are people who do not deserve to live, but I don't want to be the one to throw the switch that kills them or be a part of the society that rejoices in their death.